Pope County Sheriff Aaron DuVall said Monday his office followed applicable state laws when trading donated guns to a sporting goods store for equipment for deputies, an exchange that prompted a civil complaint against DuVall last week.

Pope County resident Harold Tate alleged in his complaint filed last week in Pope County Circuit Court that Duvall did not properly dispose of 12 firearms donated to his office in June 2009.

DuVall said Friday the guns — which he indicated were too "rusted and worn" for police use — were traded at fair market value to a sporting good stores for footwear for Pope County deputies. DuVall added the exchange only occurred after he consulted county officials, including Fifth Judicial Prosecuting Attorney David Gibbons.

“The prosecutor said we’d draw up a court order and he signed off on it, and even talked with a state auditor to see if this was the proper way to do it,” Duvall said. “He agreed and the prosecutor took the court order to a circuit judge for a court review and he signed off on it.”

Gibbons said Friday the exchange was legal and valid.

“This property was traded for a new property at fair market value. The procedures they’re complaining about that weren’t met ... shall not apply in these instances,” he said. “There’s nothing illegal here.”

Tate's attorney, Robert Newcomb of Little Rock, said Monday the exchange improperly occurred according to provisions of Arkansas law that govern the disposal of contraband and seized property. Because the guns were donated to the county, Newcomb contended they should have been sold in accordance with state laws regarding the sale of county property.

The complaint states the firearms were donated to Pope County by Timothy C. Johnson and asks the guns be returned to the county without reimbursement to the current owners.

“What the law provides for is that the guns are taken back from the people who the sheriff traded the property to and they don’t get the property back,” Newcomb said. “They lose it.”

The complaint also asks the court to order DuVall to comply with provisions within Arkansas law “in disposing of property that he received through gift and not as part of a criminal case.”

DuVall is expected to be represented by attorneys from the Arkansas Public Entities Risk Management Association.